A primary complaint regarding today's synthetic yarns is that their method of manufacture presents a product, though satisfactory from a dyeing and handling use, which has a touch or "hand", when in the form of garments, that is less than satisfactory. The filaments are formed utilizing spinning apparatus which cause the surface of the filaments to be substantially smooth. When formed into a garment structure, these filaments have a tendency to be cold to the touch and generally lack the feel that one has become to expect from materials made of natural fibers, e.g. cotton and wool.
In view of this drawback of "man-made" filaments, yarn producers and garment manufacturers have sought to modify filament, structures in a number of ways over the years. Continuous filament tow is cut into small segments called staple fibers and passed through apparatus such as open spinning machines (such as those used in open-end spinning or flyer spinning) which form the staple fibers into a yarn. In the staple fiber yarn sometimes referred to as "spun" yarn from the spinning operation, the ends of the various cut lengths protrude from the yarn more like wool or other natural fibers, thus producing a feel more like the natural yarns.
It has also been known to crinkle and twist the continuous filaments in a manner that causes the filaments to retain their contorted shape to some extent, and this "texturing" of the continuous filaments also tends to produce a warmer, less harsh feel than non-textured filaments.
It is also known to combine the crimping and staple fiber process in such a manner that presents the feel of both processes in the final product.
It is also known to convert continuous filament yarns to staple-like yarns by breaking certain of the yarns in a process of manufacture of the overall yarn. This has been accomplished in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,379,808, for example, by rotating the bristles of a circular steel brush over the surface filaments of a yarn passing over a processing godet each pass the yarn makes over the godet.
Filaments of a continuous filament yarn were broken according to U.S. Letters Pat. No. 2,184,254 by passing the yarn over an abrasive wheel during the winding process. Further U.S. Letters Pat. No. 415,419 describes and depicts a process in a ring spinning frame in which a yoke built in the ring traveler of such a frame has serrations on its inner edge. Yarns being spun onto a package in the spinning frame contact the serrations and the filaments on the surface thereof are broken or cut.
In U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,001,358 there is shown a process in which a cutting wheel having spaced severing sections is placed perpendicularly to the path of travel of a yarn in a false twisting area. The filaments of the false twisted yarn are broken on the surface and produce a bulkiness and hand similar to staple fibers. A principle difficulty with this latter process is that the yarns passing through the cutting process are not supported and have a tendency to "bounce" on the serrating surface and produce a non-uniform product. The present invention is directed to an apparatus that provides a controlled yarn during the loop severing process.